Glossary Term – Organization

The Federalist Party evolved from the core of Federalists, like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, who wrote and defended the US Constitution in 1787–1788. The new political party advocated a strong central government and supported a liberal construction of the Constitution. John Adams, elected in 1796, served as the only Federalist Party president, and the party held little power after 1801.

Glossary Term – Organization

The first Bank of the United States was chartered in 1791 with support from Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Jefferson and other small-government-minded politicians objected to the establishment of a national bank, arguing that it was not constitutional. The bank worked much in the way Hamilton envisioned, providing economic stability for the new country. In 1811, however, the bank ceased operation when Jeffersonian Republicans refused to renew its charter.

Glossary Term – Person

John Jay (1745–1829) was a member of the Continental Congress (1774–1776, 1778–1779). He also served as that body’s president (1778–1779). He went on to hold a variety of diplomatic roles, and was one of the negotiators and signers of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War. From 1784 to 1789, Jay was secretary of foreign affairs. He was also author, with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, of The Federalist (1788), a landmark collection of essays promoting the US Constitution. In 1789, Jay accepted Washington’s...

Glossary Term – Person

Glossary Term – Person

Alexander Hamilton (1757–1804) shaped the financial, political, and legal systems of the young United States. Born in poverty in the Caribbean, Hamilton was sent to New York to receive and education. He was sympathetic to the demands of rebellious colonists and he joined the militia when the Revolution began. In March of 1777 Hamilton was appointed to George Washington’s staff as an aide-de-camp and later distinguished himself at the Battle of Yorktown. He married Elizabeth Schuyler, of the eminent Schuyler family, and went on to serve in...

Glossary Term – Person

Aaron Burr (1756–1836) was an influential politican and the third vice president of the United States. Though he had a prominent career before his rivalry with Alexander Hamilton, Burr is best remembered for killing Hamilton in a duel in 1804. Burr was born in New Jersey and educated at Princeton (then the College of New Jersey). In 1775 he joined the Continental Army to fight in the Revolutionary War. After the war, Burr practiced law in New York City and in 1784 was elected to the state assembly. He continued his political career in the...

Interactive

Interactive

Interactive

This series of online exhibitions explores the importance of Alexander Hamilton to the founding of the United States. Each mini-exhibition features locations where Alexander Hamilton made history and documents written by or about him.

Multimedia

Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History at the University of Virginia, Peter S. Onuf has written extensively on sectionalism, federalism, and political economy, with a particular emphasis on the political thought of Thomas Jefferson. In this lecture, he looks at Jefferson’s opinions about federal government.